One day, the parrot looked in a mirror and asked the scientists a question. No animal had ever been recorded asking a question about itself before. He wanted to know what color he was.
Alex was an African grey parrot purchased from a pet store in 1977 by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg, then at the University of Arizona. His name was an acronym for her project: Avian Learning Experiment.
Over the next 30 years, Alex demolished the idea that parrots only mimic. He learned to identify more than 50 objects, seven colors, five shapes, and quantities up to six. He could say what material things were made of, tell same from different, and combine labels into real requests — including asking to be left alone when he was tired of working.
“What Color?”
Shown his reflection, Alex asked, “What color?” — learning the word “grey” after being told the answer six times. Scientists had documented animals answering thousands of questions; Alex was the first recorded to ask one, and it was about himself.
He also appeared to grasp a zero-like concept — answering “none” when no object matched — something human children take years to learn.
“You Be Good. I Love You.”
Alex died unexpectedly in September 2007, aged 31. His final words to Pepperberg the night before were the pair’s nightly ritual: “You be good. I love you. See you tomorrow.”
His gravestone in Massachusetts carries a simple line: “You taught us many things, but most of all, you taught us it is possible to love and be loved.”
❓ Q&A
Q: What could Alex count to? A: He could accurately label quantities up to six, and understood a zero-like concept (“none”).
Q: Why was his question so important? A: Asking about his own appearance showed self-directed curiosity — a level of awareness scientists had not previously documented in an animal.
Story compiled from widely reported accounts of Alex and Dr. Irene Pepperberg’s research.
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